Artpace, San Antonio. Image by Francisco Cortes, courtesy Artpace.
Since opening in 1995, Artpace San Antonio has welcomed Texas-based, national, and international artists to its residency, fulfilling its mission as a catalyst for artistic expression. The fall artist residents, selected by guest curator Kelly Baum, will share dinner with the public at Artpace on Thursday, September 26, at 6:30 pm at its longtime (and re-instated) Artist Welcome Dinner potluck. The dinner is sponsored by Liberty Bar, which will will provide the main course for this first of two upcoming events at Artpace.
Aside from a main course, Artpace welcomes the public to bring a favorite potluck dish, side, or dessert to share with incoming residents Jessica Halonen (Austin, TX), Emre Hüner (Istanbul, Turkey) and Cauleen Smith (Los Angeles, CA).
The free event will include dinner and conversations with the new residents about their practice and their upcoming projects at Artpace, and the residency offers free parking at 513 N. Flores.
Also upcoming with Artpace: Artpace Chalk It Up!, the city’s largest single-day visual art festival, takes place on Saturday, October 12 from 10:00 am–4:00 pm. Chalk It Up! is also a free event with artists and school teams raising funds for arts programming, while giving a boost San Antonio’s downtown as an arts and culture destination. The seven-block footprint of the festival, which Artpace anticipates will draw a record crowd in the thousands for its 15th year, will begin at Artpace (445 N. Main Ave) and extend down Main Avenue and the historic Houston Street.
Chalk it Up, 2018 event at Artpace, San Antonio. Image by Francisco Cortes, courtesy Artpace.
More than 80 schools from more than a dozen districts in the San Antonio region will participate in the TeamWorks mural competition, which challenges groups of up to ten students to collaborate on a 10’ x 8’ street mural made entirely out of chalk. Winners are awarded in each grade level category by District 1 Councilman Roberto Treviño at the awards ceremony at 2:30 pm on the Argo Group Main Stage.
Chalk It Up! will include original artwork, live music, food, and other features. “Chalk It Up teaches students how to work as a team—how to accomplish something bigger than yourself,” says second-year SAISD arts educator Eliana Rodriguez, who will be bringing a team to this year’s competition. “A student can’t do something like this by themselves. Having a team and being able to accomplish a design in four hours is mind-blowing for a young person. I think it might even be life-changing for them.”
Certified Platinum by San Antonio’s Office of Sustainability, Chalk It Up! has picked for the festival theme this year the notion of ‘sustainability.’ Artpace Chalk It Up! strives to be a green event by reducing single-use plastics and paper and utilizing renewable resources, among other initiatives.
“Artpace Chalk It Up fills a service gap by giving students a public, creative outlet for making art collaboratively,” says Chalk It Up! Chair Katie Pace Halleran. “Students are given a blank canvas and an enormous audience to showcase their talent, collaboration, and hard work. That signals to them that what they’re doing has value and has a lasting impact on their community.”
For more info on both events, please go here.
